Computer electronic devices such as central processing units (CPUs) generate lots of heat during normal operation. If not properly removed, such heat can adversely affect the operational stability of computers. Solutions must be taken to efficiently remove the heat from the CPUs. Typically, a heat sink is mounted on a CPU to remove heat therefrom, and a fan is often attached to the heat sink for improving heat-dissipating efficiency of the heat sink. The heat sink commonly comprises a base and a plurality of heat-dissipating fins arranged on the base.
Nowadays, CPUs and other related computer electronic devices are becoming functionally more powerful and more heat is produced consequently, resulting in an increasing need for removing the heat away more rapidly. Conventional heat sinks made of metal materials, even a fan is used, gradually cannot satisfy the need of heat dissipation. Accordingly, another kind of heat dissipating device incorporating heat pipes has been designed to meet the current heat dissipation need, as the heat pipe possesses an extraordinary heat transfer capacity and can quickly transfer heat from one point to another thereof. Commonly, a heat pipe consists of a sealed aluminum or copper container with the internal walls lined with a capillary wick structure that is filled with a working fluid. As the heat pipe absorbs heat at one end thereof, fluid is vaporized, and a pressure gradient is formed in the pipe. This pressure gradient forces the vapor to flow along the pipe from the one end to the other end where the vapor condenses and gives out its latent heat of vaporization. The working fluid is then returned back to the one end of the pipe via the capillary forces developed in the wick structure. When used, an end of the heat pipe is attached to the base of a heat sink, and the other end of the heat pipe is attached to a plurality of heat-dissipating fins of the heat sink. Thus the heat generated by electronic devices is conducted to the base and then rapidly transferred to the heat-dissipating fins via the heat pipe for further dissipating to ambient air.
However, the above-mentioned heat dissipating device incorporating heat pipes has a disadvantage that the heat pipe has a small contact surface with the base of the heat sink. Thus the heat dissipation effect is still not satisfactory.
Therefore, it is desired to design a novel heat dissipating device to overcome the aforementioned problems and increase the heat dissipation effect thereof.